Wellington man admits murdering wife

Wellington man Rajeshwar Singh has pleaded guilty of murdering his estranged wife, Sarwan Lata, who had a protection order against him because of past abuse.

In the High Court at Wellington today Singh entered his plea to the murder charge, and two charges of breaching protection orders.

Singh, 47, a taxi driver, appeared in court on October 28 last year for a protection order breach. He was still under a court-ordered bail condition not to contact his wife or go to her house when he murdered her there on November 26.

In October he had made 38 abusive and threatening phone calls to her in under half an hour.

On October 28 he appeared in court where a bail condition was imposed on him that resulted in him officially moving out of the house he had shared with Lata in Kentwood Drive, Woodridge, a northern suburb of Wellington.

Singh moved to a flat in Newtown Wellington.

The second protection order breach was when he went to her house to kill her.

After killing his wife Singh tried to kill himself. Police arrived in time to revive him but Lata was dead.

He has been remanded in custody to be sentenced in early June, Justice Lowell Goddard said. For technical reasons convictions have not yet been entered.

Singh’s lawyer, Kevin Preston, asked for a mental health report to be written about Singh for the purposes of sentencing.